Albany, NY — Today, Governor Hochul announced her Executive Budget proposal, inclusive of a statewide ban on fossil fuels in new construction. The move comes one week after nearly 200 advocates from across the state rallied with dozens of elected officials at the Capitol, calling for the Governor, Senate and Assembly to prioritize the issue in the state budget. The All-Electric Building Act (S562A/A920A), which ends fossil fuels in new construction, has 25 co-sponsors in the Senate co-sponsors, 52 in the Assembly. 

Electrifying new buildings in New York would address the worsening climate crisis and skyrocketing home energy bills. Buildings account for a third of New York’s greenhouse gas emissions; ending fossil fuel use would prevent air pollution equivalent to keeping 870,000 gas-powered cars off the road for a year. As New Yorkers statewide weather double digit rate hikes of up to 50%, a statewide analysis by Win Climate found that under the All-Electric Building Act, families in new homes would save an average of over $900 a year. The move would also improve public health. A new study confirming decades of research on the dangerous fumes produced by gas appliances, found that 19% of child asthma cases in New York are caused by air pollution from gas stoves. While current homes would be unaffected, all new buildings would be required to exclude these dangerous appliances.

Last year, the State Senate supported enactment of the All-Electric Building Act in the state budget. Groups in the statewide #GasFreeNY coalition which includes the American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York, Earthjustice, Food & Water Watch, New York Communities for Change, NYPIRG and WE ACT for Environmental Justice, are calling on the Assembly led by Speaker Carl Heastie to include the All-Electric Building Act in its “one house” budget proposal due next month. 66 percent of likely New York voters support the move to ban fossil fuels in new construction, confirming similar poll results from January 2022.

“Burning fossil fuels in our buildings is killing us and our climate, while soaking New Yorkers to pad gas company profits. Hochul’s landmark budget proposal paves the way to stop digging a deeper hole,” said Food & Water Watch Northeast Region Director Alex Beauchamp. “Banning fossil fuels in new buildings is the right move — it’s also the politically popular one. New Yorkers and those who represent us are championing this issue in every corner of the state. Stewart-Cousins and Heastie: listen to New Yorkers, pick up the torch and pass the All-Electric Building Act in your budget.”

“Nearly my entire family has asthma, we worry about the impact of rising sea levels and sewers that overflow in storms, and we’re paying through the roof on utility bills. I want all-electric new buildings because they are cleaner, safer, and can save my family money. We’re glad to see the policy in the Governor’s budget and are calling on Governor Hochul and the Legislature to get all-electric new buildings done in the budget, and implemented in 2024,” said Damien Andrade, NYPIRG member and CUNY Brooklyn College student. 

“I want this bill to pass because my bills are too high. It also makes the air cleaner, creates jobs we need, and helps to stop climate change,” said Elaine Blair, a member of New York Communities for Change and a homeowner in Saint Albans, Queens. “Our representatives should listen to us, not this craziness from Ted Cruz and Matt Gaetz. They’re just paid off by the oil and gas companies who charge us so much money to heat our homes. I’m glad the Governor and State Senate are on board and I’m looking forward to our Assembly joining in, too.”

“It’s no wonder that 66% of New Yorkers support a mandate for all-electric new construction when it’ll fight the climate crisis, protect public health, and keep money in their pocketbooks,” said Liz Moran, New York Policy Advocate for Earthjustice. “We applaud Governor Hochul for listening to New Yorkers and doing what is necessary to meet our climate law mandates by including a policy to require all-electric new construction in her proposed budget. With buildings accounting for one-third of New York’s climate pollution, lives already being lost to the climate crisis, and ever-increasing prices of gas, the time to adopt this policy is now. We urge the Legislature to join the Governor and get all-electric new construction in the final budget.”

“New York architects are already designing countless gas free buildings throughout our city and state, ranging from residential towers to NYCHA campus retrofits, to single-family homes,” said Matthew Bremer, President of the American Institute of Architects New York. “All-electric buildings are the crucial next step toward long term decarbonization. Electric power is more affordable, safer, and more reliable than fossil fuels.”

The Governor’s budget proposal would end fossil fuels in new construction beginning with new permit applications for smaller new buildings under four stories in 2025 and both commercial and larger new buildings in 2028. The All-Electric Building Act, which the Senate supports, parallels New York City’s law, enacted in December 2021, ending fossil fuels in smaller new buildings under 7 stories at the beginning of 2024 and larger new buildings in 2027. Each year, tens of thousands of new buildings are built in New York state; approximately 40,000 homes per year. Each new fossil free building avoids 15-20 years of locked in air pollution that otherwise would have been emitted by gas boilers, furnaces and stoves. About 90% of the gas used in buildings is burned in boilers or furnaces. 

Contact: Phoebe Galt, [email protected]